Harris' Struggles Baffle Coach

CORAL GABLES — It's rare that a coach admits to not having the answer to one of the team's biggest problems.

But that was the case when Hurricanes coach Frank Haith was asked how to get struggling point guard Anthony Harris to play better.

Haith has nurtured Harris, talking with him after a scoreless performance in the regular-season finale loss to Florida State. And Haith has challenged Harris, starting a walk-on, Lee Butler, in his place in UM's victory over Clemson in the first round of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament last week.

Haith has gone as far as demoting the junior Friday in the close loss to Duke, starting freshman point guard Denis Clemente, who likely will see that promotion extend to tonight's game against Oklahoma State in UM's opening NIT game.

Haith says he's searching for something to jolt Harris back to his old, confident self.

Harris has never been extremely consistent, but he's rarely a liability, as he's been lately.

During Miami's difficult stretch, losing seven of its past nine games, Harris' scoring average (8.6 per game) and shooting percentage (41 percent from the field) have been down, and his turnovers (3.1 a game) are up.

"To get out of these kinds of funks, you've just got to go at it in practice hard and watch film to find the things you're doing wrong," said Harris, who is averaging 10.1 points and 3.2 assists. "Doing that taught me I'm doing a lot of thinking out there, trying to get guys involved. It comes down to decision making, who to get the ball to so they can make plays, when to make a post feed."

Haith points out Harris didn't play "that poorly" as a reserve against Clemson and Duke, contributing six points in both games.

"We need Anthony to play better because we're going to need both he and Denis," Haith said. "Oklahoma State is a physical team. Denis struggles against teams that are very physical, with strong players. Anthony Harris' body type, and the type of athletic player he is will allow him to handle that physicality more so than Denis right now."

Omar Kelly can be reached at okelly@sun-sentinel.com.

TONIGHT: NIT FIRST ROUND

No. 6 Oklahoma State

at No. 3 UM

When/where: 9 p.m., BankUnited Center, Coral Gables.

TV: ESPNU.

Radio: WVUM (90.5-FM, Miami); WKAT (1360-AM); game will begin on WKAT and move to WQAM (560-AM) when Florida Panthers' game ends.

Of note: This is Miami's second consecutive postseason appearance and its 13th postseason game (5 NCAA, 8 NIT). ... The Cowboys are led by the inside-outside combination of junior forward Mario Boggan (14.8 ppg, 5.7 rpg) and sophomore guard JamesOn Curry (13.7 ppg, 4 apg). Curry has made a team-high 62 3-pointers and is shooting 37 percent from long distance. ... UM senior Rob Hite needs four 3-pointers to set UM's single-season record.